It was late afternoon, and I found myself wandering through a leafy green park, with landscaped gardens intersected by wide avenues, and with refreshing fountains to cool down the summer air. In-between all this stood a dusty nondescript tomb with no adornments or colorless. And after having spent the entire day gazing at monumental mosques and madrasas that had been beautifully restored to their former glories, this tiny tomb felt bare. And only the intricate patterns on the walls belied what was inside.
For what I was staring at was the 9th century Samanid Mausoleum, one of the most highly esteemed work of Central Asian Islamic architecture, having constructed even before Genghis Khan had ravaged this place. Since Sunni Islam prohibited construction of mausoleums, the fact that this one was constructed stresses the prominence of Ismail Samani, the ruler of the Samanid dynasty in that era.
As I entered inside, the warm afternoon sunlight streaming through the brickwork window formed a beautiful checkered pattern on the floor, and that lent a yellow ambience that highlighted the intricate geometric patterns that festooned the walls, archways, and the domed ceiling. In one corner stood the rather unremarkable tomb dedicated to the great ruler Ismail Samani.
I tried to capture the aura of magnificence, but the camera can only go so far. This was shot at F11 at ISO-800 at 1/8s
Bukhara
Uzbekistan